For To Us - Advent Reading 3 - Hope

This is the third advent reading that went along with the For Unto Us 2016 Christmas Prayer Loft at the Gathering House Covenant Church in Spokane Washington. 

Hope 

by Margot Cioccio 

Of the greatness of his government and peace

there will be no end.

He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom,

In the Voice it reads like this. “His leadership will bring such prosperity as you’ve never seen before—sustainable peace for all time.This child: God’s promise to David—a throne forever, among us, to restore sound leadership that cannot be perverted or shaken. He will ensure justice without fail and absolute equity. Always.”

As I have thought about these readings I have made a point to not make them nostalgic, or filled the typical holiday fluff. Jesus wants to give you a gift of a greater revelation of himself as alive and truly active in your life. Today our Advent candle is Hope.  Our verse reminds us that Jesus has been given a throne forever among us. There is no end to what he is doing in you or in his beloved creation. To know that he cares and is still actively working gives us renewed hope for our lives and the world around us. 

We are his ambassadors. We are the very people through whom he chooses to work. Yet too often we have gotten saved and in our minds it has mostly been an insurance policy and our ticket to eternal bliss. It does very little to change our present circumstances or our lives moving forward. However, Salvation is a much bigger concept, it applies to here and now and to eternity. Over one hundred times when the word saved or salvation used in the New Testament, it is the word SOZO which means Saved, Healed and Delivered. Those are things that actively transform our life in the here and now.  We are to be reflections of His glory and his love in everything we do and every place we go. 

Our verse today talks about there being no end to the greatness of His government and peace. I want to talk about God’s government and what it looks likes. His government is free from corruption and when we are free from that we are able to experience his power in the form of love. God cares about all of us and uses His power and authority for our good. 

 “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;

    love and faithfulness go before you.” it says in Psalm 89:14 NIV

Hebrews 12:28 NIV  Says, Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, In Matthew 5:13 we are reminded  “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 

If we stop being salty, influencing the flavor of life around us,  we are cast aside and trampled. Religion is too often seen as useless and what we have walked in too much of the time is simply legalism. We have tried to conform others by use of law, or to force them to our version of morality. We now have a reputation as Christians of being those people who are anti everything. That is a corruption of God’s heart and not the kind of people we are called to be. My hope today - that repentance and revival would begin in the house of God. Let it begin with in each of us. 

To understand God as ruler and King we need to look at how Jesus lived and walked among us. According to Jesus, to be a leader one needed to be a great servant. To have true authority one must be willing to lay down their life for others. He showed us that those with real authority are always submitted to authority as well. It is his love that must move us and his kindness that leads to repentance. We as his people need to work to restore Gods image by power of His love where ever we find it has been distorted. The lie is that God doesn't care about things on earth. That we are left here as orphans to try and do the best we can against terrible odds. The truth is that God is for us, he does care about his creation. He has not left us as orphans we are adopted and accepted as sons and daughters who have been given authority to represent him in every segment of society. 

Trust brings His government into our own lives and that government brings us true peace. So now we light the candle of hope. A hope that as he changes us to conform to his image that the world around us can also be changed and his government and peace will increase. 

This is the way; walk in it

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

Isaiah 30:21

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, 

your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

So my job at the church ended at the end of May. Even good change is always uncomfortable and takes adjusting to get used to. I love my church family and will simply be doing other things that better fit my spiritual gifts. I got to let go of the office busy work and most of the tech stuff at this point and am focusing on creating a team of prayer warriors and creative people who will help with future prayer lofts and various service elements.

What it did mean was that I needed to re-think my job possibilities and where I was spending time and energy that might be better used. I needed to discover who exactly God has created me to be. I have done a lot of things, and gained a lot of skills just because things needed done. I have approached ministry from a stand point of being available to do what ever God needed done. So after years and years of doing things that way- you can't just take a spiritual gifts test to figure it out  - because you've become good at a lot of things.  I did feel pretty strongly that God was calling me to something out side of the church.

Much of the month I felt like I was just drifting with no clue where I might be headed next. I thought about lots of different occupations. Honestly most of the time it felt like there was a big wheel with a spinner  - pick a job any job. Butcher, Baker and Candlestick maker are not in really in demand these days. I thought about nursing and counseling and art therapy all of which would mean a lot of school. At age almost 52 the thought of a lot of school, even with grants and scholarships I'd be looking at loans to then pay off for a career that I might not even be able to begin working in for four maybe even six years.

So I have spent the month reading books like the Path, Jesus Career Counselor, and The Power of Positive Prophecy all by one of my favorite writer coaches, Laurie Beth Jones. My dad sent me a wonderful book called What Should I do with My Life by Po Bronson that was filled with short stories of people who had decided it was time to follow their dreams or do something completely different with their lives. Actually my favorite quote came from that book. "Here's my point" all we get is a glimmer. A story we read or someone we briefly met. A curiosity, a meek voice inside, whispering. Its up to us to hammer out the rest." So I have spent the month thinking about the common threads, the glimmers and the things I locked away because at various points because I just couldn't deal with them. One day I felt like the Lord said to me "Margot go back and visit your granola bar roots." So in my young pre Christian life I was into alternative everything. I had a lot of new age ideas, and a lot of interest in all things wellness. The problem was that when I became a Christian, I was not able to sort out what was good and what was junk from my old life so I pretty much left it behind. Not to mention there was some heart break that I didn't want to think about so I locked it away and just kept moving forward. I was a new creature in Christ after all so I found new things to do. Music and art never got completely locked up but I rarely sang old pre-Christian songs, and my art ventured into more of the graphic design side of things or production work. I really didn't paint much anymore. So parts were locked up and left behind and some things found their way into my new life as a believer.

A few years ago all that locked up stuff started to rattle their chains. I really did not even know what all was there anymore. I had come across some verses that talked about the secret place. I had always read those verses and  thought that God had secret places where He wanted to meet us. One day I looked at them from another angle. What if I had secret places and the Lord wanted me to invite Him into them. Thus began a very long journey of uncovering layers and layers of painful stuff. I had spent much of my life avoiding anything painful.  I found out that as I invited the Lord into some of those dark, broken, wounded, damaged places that He did not condem me or shake His almighty finger at me and say "I told you, that was a bad choice..." He met me with compassion and understanding. He took the time to clean my wounds and allowed me to see where I needed to repent and where I needed to forgive. Sometimes he would want to deal with an area and I would tell Him I will, but I can't do it yet. He was wonderfully patient. I would think I had gotten through everything and He would give me a season of rest. Then we would start again and I would find out that there was more stuff I had not even looked at. Honestly even now I am still sorting somethings out.

Anyway about half way through the month of June, I started to notice a glimmer. As I have thought about my strongest spiritual gift it has to do with intercession and prayer and laying hands on people. I can't always explain it but when I lay hands on people to pray for them God shows me stuff. Over the years I have learned to go with those nudges from the Holy Spirit, little words of wisdom or knowledge. Most of the time it ends with the person crying and saying how did you know. Or I pray for them and they would say after wards that was exactly what I was struggling with - how did you know. So I started to follow the bread crumbs and little clues along the path that the Lord seemed to be dropping for me. I knew the next step was something outside of the church. How could I use my gifts in a way that would not freak people out, in a secular setting? Where might I use pastoring gifts and encouragement outside of the church. Coaching makes sense so I will continue to build on that but I knew there was more. I started to think about the possibility of Massage Therapy - now there's a way to lay hands on people.

I have visited several schools and found one that I really like. I have talked to some of the people closest to me to to see if they felt I was moving in the right direction. All have been very positive and felt it would be a good fit for me.  Then I have kind of let it sit and rest. There is the initial excitement over a new idea and I have kind of wanted to let it rest and wear the idea for a bit. I've been reading books and visiting various websites. At this point I am working through how to pay for it so I can start in September. I am working on picking up new guitar students, and coaching clients during the times I won't have classes or need to be studying and I have family who has offered to help once I figure out what I want to do, that I still need to talk to. So little by little I keep taking  steps of faith. I had asked the Lord to give me a new dream and I am starting to see one along with a direction move in to get there.

The journey toward your Big Dream changes you. In fact, the journey itself is what prepares you to succeed at what you were born to do.
And until you decide to pursue your Dream, you are never going to love life the way you were meant to.     ~ Bruce Wilkinson

So to sum this all up I've had to sift through a lot of stuff, believing that the Lord would lead me and help me to figure out and answer the question, What Should I Do With My Life? I'm sure there is still a lot of refining and greater understanding that I will gain as I go along. For now I have this glimmer and I am working to hammer out the details.

Prayer: I pray that the Lord will help you to uncover what needs to be uncovered in your own life. That you will find that glimmer of hope to move towards. That you will hear His voice behind you saying "this is the way, walk in it." I pray you will have the courage to let go of things you no longer need, and even good things so that you can reach for His best for you.

There God Commands His Blessing

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

Psalm 133, “this is where the Lord commands His blessing and life forever more.”

The Bear Brawl Debate Tournament

I saw something this weekend while helping about 15 hours Friday and Saturday at a Debate Tournament my boys were involved in. I had gone to the parents judges training meeting in the morning. I've judged before but I wanted to show parent support for the training and it never hurts to get a refresher because I am still a novice judge. During the meeting the teacher and coach for the team expressed how discouraged he was in the last couple of months. There have been lots of laws that have changed that complicate his job as a teacher. Even good changes bring with them the stress of getting used to doing things a new way. He's been a teacher for a long time and knows getting parent help is always an up hill battle but this year with all the changes and a father figure in his life being sick and dying caused there to be a cloud of discouragement that he was struggling to shake. I had planed to be a judge just on Friday in my effort to slow down. There were two other parents who were able to help here and there during the tournament but this teacher was pretty much there the rest of the time alone with 18 of our kids and about three hundred other teen debaters. I felt led to offer to help on Saturday after I got done with my morning music lessons.
So it has been a very long weekend and today (Sunday) I am running the kitchen for our homeless meal that will feed about 150 - 200 people.

What I wanted to bring out was that Saturday morning I got up like I usually do but my head was filled with an elaborate idea of how to create a student lead debate team. So I wrote it down, printed it and stuck it in my purse to give to the Debate Teacher /Coach. I spend a lot of my time working with the church and I expect God to bless his church. What I realized this weekend is that God's hand of blessing is on me as his child. His blessing goes where I go. Most of the time I am in Christian settings and I can't see my individual effect of a carrier and courier of his presence and blessing. This weekend I found myself in a place with good but non believing people and they were struggling. I saw an opportunity to begin loving them till they ask why. My kids have been involved in this program for the past two years and will potentially be involved in it another six years.

So I saw something happen. On Saturday, I shared my idea with the other involved parent and with the coach. Both lit up with excitement. The coach said "this is the first time in weeks that I have hope." He had previously talked about not taking the team to the next tournament because of his sick and dying loved one. But later in the day shared with me how he was ok and glad he had gone to see him a few weeks ago and now felt he did not need to be there after he died. I think he was relieved to have been able to talk to someone and express his pain, and sorrow over the situation of his loved ones illness that causes the physical heart to harden.  Today I was thinking how the word says what ever we bind on earth will be bound and what ever we loose will be loosed. So I prayed for this man and asked God to bind this disease that has caused this mans heart to harden. I have asked that God would loose or release his healing presence into this mans life. That He would begin to reverse the hardening process. I ask myself if I believe that my prayers make a difference. I do. The Lord allowed me to see this hopeless situation. I may be the only believer praying for them. They may never know that I prayed. I don't know this man and will likely never even meet him. I do know the coach who cares about him like he was his own father. He shared when he went to visit that this sick man was all about caring for him. Encouraging him about his teaching and listening with great interest to the things that this teacher had going on in his life.  When I left Saturday evening the coach came and shook my hand and said, "thank you I will sleep tonight for the first time in a long time."

I was able to step into this situation because I have settled myself down and waited for God to direct me. I was not too busy to step into this situation this weekend. I got to see the Lord use me in a might way among good but unbelieving people. While I sat at the group table being a kid wrangler I completed a printable document for the idea that I shared. I'm good at that kind of thing and had time to kill. The coach asked me to send e-mail both documents to him and he will work on finalizing them today to present to the class on Tuesday and the idea will go into effect immediately. I realize that God has given me entrance into the life of this coach and these parents and students. I had the gift of time to give and it made a way for me in this situation. I had the gift of wisdom to give and I was able to roll out a plan like Joseph did to Pharaoh. Suddenly I will become a parent advisor to the team and I will bring the tangible effects of God's love into a place where it was not formerly.

The verse I used today from Psalm 133 is in effect because I brought unity into this situation. When I align myself as a believer with others - it is there that God commands His blessing. As a believer I am supposed to be salt, a preserving agent in the world. I am supposed to be light to bring hope, wisdom, insight and and direction. You and I are ambassadors of the King of kings. We don't have to preach at people. We need to love them till they ask us why? When they ask they are ready to hear. When that opportunity comes we are told to be ready to share why we have this great hope. 1 Peter 3:15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect"

Prayer: Help us to see how our presence brings your blessing into the places we go. Help us to not be so concerned with our own struggles that we miss what you are doing all around us. Help us to love the people around us till they ask why. Help us to be ready to tell them how you are the best decision we ever made.

Dreams That Test and Try You

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

Genesis 42:8-9
⁸ Although Joseph 
recognized his brothers, 
they did not recognize him.  
⁹Then he remembered his dreams 
about them and said to them, 
“You are spies! 
You have come to see 
where our land is unprotected.” 






I found a little treasure I had not noticed before while reading Genesis 42 this morning. In verse 9 it says Then he remembered his dreams about them...  You may not be familiar with this story it start in Genesis 37. Joseph is the 11th son of Jacob. He is the favored son born late in life to his father. His father had four wives. Rachel was his true love. He is tricked as a young man into marring her older sister.  So he ends up with 2 wives when they are unable to have children they each have him marry their maid servants.
That is another story.  In this story today Joseph is the favored son. He is a young man and is favored above all the other brothers which as you can imagine causes some bitter and jealous feelings among his siblings. He has two dreams as a young man and shares them with the family in the first the brothers are bowing down to him. In the second the whole family is bowing down to him. I have to question his wisdom in sharing those dreams with everyone. His father does not help things by giving Joseph a very ostentatious coat. He is sending a pretty clear signal to the other brothers that this 11th son is the one who will next lead the family.  How do you determine who is the first born in a family of four wives. Is it the first born or the first born of the frist wife, or the first born of the favored wife. You can see how this could be a point of contention in this family. I've written about Joseph and his story in other posts so I will leave you to read it on your own. What I want to look at today is that he did not forget his dreams.

Most dreams fade quickly upon waking. I know most of mine quickly become muddled and fade away. There are some that are very clear and generally contain something for me to puzzel and ponder what God is saying to me. Some I carry for what seems a very long time. In the case of Joseph, I think his dreams tried and tested him all those long years about 17 while he is taken as a slave on the journey to Egypt, sold to Potiphar, then wrongly imprisoned. It is another couple years before he is remembered after interpreting the dreams of the cup barrer and the baker.

There are things that God speaks to us about our calling and destiny. Sometimes they are clues in dreams or visions, or things spoken prophetically over us. Most often those things are tested and circumstances seem to challenge them at every turn. Was God really speaking that to you or was it just your own imaginations. I am sure for years Joseph was tested and tried by his dreams. Would he just cast them off as impossible, crazy, hopeless or would he ponder them in his heart.

So here he is in this verse on the other side of things. He is at the point of the fulfillment of his dreams. Here his brothers are in Egypt. They don't recognize him but he recognizes them. He understands every word they are saying to each other. I am sure he must wonder if they have changed. Were they still the jerks who sold him into bondage. What had the years worked on them?  

Maybe you have carried a dream or a vision and continue to hope towards its fulfillment. I guess today I want to speak hope and faith to you. Your dream may still seem crazy and impossible.  Joseph carried his dreams through years of hardship. He is one of the characters in the bible that I most admire. He took a bad situation and from it gained wisdom, knowledge and skill. He did not just sit and have a pity party at his misfortune. In it he continually was becoming a better person. It says repeated times and the Lord was with him or the Lord's hand was upon him. He did not leave God back in the days of his youth he carried the Lord with him through the years of hardship and into the years of leadership and prominence.

He did not forget his dreams. The day before his brothers showed up was a day like any other. Suddenly after years of waiting his dream becomes fulfilled.  You don't know when a turning point will come. When suddenly the thing that God has shown or spoken to you, that you have carried in faith will come into being.

For me to see this verse about Joseph remembering his dreams is a confirmation to me. He did not cast them aside. He knew all along even in the impossibility of his dismal circumstances that God was able.
What must it have been like for him in that moment to know that indeed he was not just a crazy dreamer. God had spoken, and in His time he had brought the thing to pass.

I love what he says to his brothers when he finally reveals who he is to them in chapter 45:
 ⁴ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! ⁵ And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. ⁶ For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. ⁷ But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.^[a]
 8 “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt

Oh for a Joseph perspective to see that it is not the fault of those who have betrayed or harmed us but it was God who had used those circumstances to prepare Joseph to save many lives. 


Prayer:
Dear Lord, I pray that faith and trust would rise up in those who are carrying dreams, visions or words that seem impossible in light of present circumstances. I pray they would allow those things to drive them into your presence. I pray that like Joseph they would make the best of their difficult situations and allow them to prepare them for your greater plans and purposes in their life. I pray when they find themselves on the other side of a long awaited moment, that like Joseph they would not feel a need to get back at those who betrayed or harmed them but they would be able to have a Joseph perspective and see how through it all you brought your plans and purposes to pass and used it in a willing and faithful heart as a preparation for greater service.

In The Wake of Destruction

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

Joel 2:12-14

“Even now,” declares the LORD,
   “return to me with all your heart,
   with fasting and weeping and mourning.” 

 Rend your heart and not your garments.
Return to the LORD your God,
   for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
   and he relents from sending calamity.
 Who knows? He may turn and have pity
   and leave behind a blessing—

Today I have been reading the book of Joel. In that book the writer describes an invasion of locust on the agricultural community of his day. He say that nothing has ever happened like this before in his life or in the memory of his forefathers.  In one resource that I was reading this morning as I thought about these passages it described it not as a one time event but a cycle over a year or more in length. The locust came in waves they would lay eggs and before long another wave would come. One after another the harvests would ripen and be destroyed. In one passage he speaks to the drunkards and drinkers of wine and tells them to wail because the new wine has been snatched from your lips. In another passage that seems poignant it says "The seeds are shriveled beneath the clods."   In another "How the cattle moan! The herds mill about because they have no pasture, even the flocks of sheep are suffering.  It paints some vivid pictures and brings to mind for me in our times tusnami, hurricanes and earthquakes and the devastation left in their wake. We witness through the window of our tv's the end of life as they knew it for other people. If they survive their life will never be the same as it was. Yes the survivors will pick up the pieces. You hear stories of people who have endured flood or fire and how in the light of those losses they realize the value of the people they love. Those who's loved ones are not lost, rejoice and re-examine their priorities. Home becomes not a place to hang your hat but the people who are dearest to you.

Joel who says of what he writes: "The word of the Lord that came to Joel the son of Pethuel". This is not just some historic account but in and through it God is speaking. In more than one place in the bible locusts are seen as the judgement of God. Ex 10:12; Joel 1:4; Rev 9:3. What do we do with the judgement of God in our 'Jesus is my buddy and pal' kind of mentality of the church of our day. While that familiarity is wonderful and I encourage people to a personal relationship with Jesus. I wonder that we sometimes loose sight of his awesome might and power. My point is that sometimes in that familiarity we forget the wonder and power the holiness of God. Do you tremble in His presence?
Jeremiah 5:12 Should you not fear me?" declares the LORD. "Should you not tremble in my presence? I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross it.

Who do we blame for devastation?  Is it the judgement of God upon people who's hearts were hard. Is it just the natural effects of how we have cared for the planet that we live or simply part of a natural cycle of earth changes.  We want to draw black and white conclusion and often the lines are fuzzy.
We want to know where was God when this bad thing happened? Who is to blame for this we demand. As if knowing will some how justify or bring back that which was lost.

In this book this devastation is said to be from the Lord upon a people who have repeatedly turned from him. Joel cries out them to not just follow the convention of grieving of that day to rip their garments and go about in rags. He tells them rend your hearts. Does your heart break over the things that breaks the heart of God?  God is not looking for ritualistic outward change from us. He wants our hearts to change. I am convinced that our hearts do not change with out being found in his presence regularly. I don't understand the actions and motivations of a stranger. How can I understand God if I do not spend time with him in the pages of his Word or time with him in Worship or in Prayer.

Some of you are facing devastation of life as you know it. Perhaps its the loss of a loved one, a divorce, mental illness, financial ruin, personal illness, perhaps a fire, or a car wreck or any number of things. In this moment you know that your life as you have known it has changed. 

I do know that we serve a God who is just. He does not just turn his head and ignore sin and its effects. He can't simply excuse some and punish others - to do so would negate justice. Justice must be served and we all have sinned and fallen short of his glory.  It is not only that 'Jesus loves me this I know for the bible tells me so'. He does, in that love of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Jesus leaves heaven and comes to earth and takes the place in the judgement that we each deserve. He makes a way that we might return to a right relationship with God. It is through his sacrifice. He forces it on no one, we are at liberty to choose to accept what he has provided or not. It is not that he comes to condem us, we stand condemned already. (John 3:18).  The poison of sin in our lives is working and it is only a matter of time before it finally leads to death. A loving God sends us an antidote. We have to decide if we will use it or not.

I am not here to say if the things you are facing are necessarily Gods judgement. They may simply be the out come of your choices and decisions or the decisions of others. We live in a fallen world and we feel the effects of sin upon it. What you are facing may be a demonic attack. I can't draw that line in the sand for you. I can encourage you to turn to God - hear what He would say to you.  Most often change is brought about in a violent sort of way. In a sense we come to the end of our self sufficiency, when everything we know to do has come up empty - we turn to God in our desperation.
 We have in that moment the opportunity to go down in dispare and accept the verdict or the diagnosis or we can turn to God and receive his instruction.  I have over many years watched how people respond to destruction. They will allow it to propel them further in God as they overcome,  or they will shake their fist and blame God for their troubles and be consumed by them.

How about you will you identify with the verdict before you, that you are done for, your life is over, and hopeless beyond repair? Or will you reach out to God who loves you and who is bigger than all your problems. Will you come to that place of realizing your desperate need for Him in every part of our life. Yes he could perhaps have kept the bad things from happening in the first place but over and over I see him receive glory in taking what is devastated and bringing restoration. It is often a long journey as we learn to see our selves through his eyes and in the light of his purposes.
What does God say about you? What is his verdit? Who's report will you believe?
We can't always say why things happen but we can choose how we will respond.

Today what ever you are facing big or small turn to God and allow him to come in and give you His direction. 

Prayer:
Dear Lord,
You know the circumstances and the things readers are facing today. Life can at times becomes overwhelming and out of control. There are those moments in life when we realize that everything we knew or thought we knew has changed. There is no going back and the choice before us is to go down in defeat or to turn to you in the midst of the crisis. Help us Lord to not just tear our garments in some religious display of piety or false humility but to truly turn to you and accept you as our Lord and Savior who loves us. Help us to realize that if we allow you, you will come in to the middle of what ever we are facing and show us your plan, your purpose and your direction. We invite you Lord to come in to our life and its circumstances. Help us to see where we need to change. Help us to walk out those changes, decision by decision, one step at time. Help us to become not to identify with what we are in this moment but to begin to see all that you would have us to become.

The Substance of Faith

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

These gardens are a thing of faith hidden beneath the frozen ground.

Hebrews 11:1  
Now faith is the substance 
of things hoped for, 
the evidence of things not seen.


Romans 5:5  
Now this hope 
does not disappoint us, 
because God's love has been poured out into our hearts 
by the Holy Spirit, 
who has been given to us.





I'm not sure where I am going with these verses but they are what I wolk up with this morning and I have sat here thinking about them wondering what it is that I am to write.

Faith is an interesting thing there are times when I would like to have faith for something and I have done all kinds of things to try and bolster or drum up faith. Other times the faith that resides with in me is so present, even though the thing that is hoped for, is from every angle impossible. Yet it remains strong and steady with in me, a thing that I know, that I know that will come but has not yet.

In my art work there are times when I can so clearly see a project and I have done enough of them now to not stress over the process. They exist from the moment that I can see them in my mind. They go from there to become rough sketches and then drawings on a board and then glass laid and then the finished project. That process can happen very fast at times and other times it waits as it did with the Beloved Project.  There are some other big projects that I can see but they wait for something to unlock the next steps. That un locking process is something I can't fully explain. I think sometimes there is something in me that must be awakened or released. Sometimes I think God just breathes upon it - in His appointed time. Some times it is a word of encouragement in the right moment that some how turns a key and says, it is time to walk up to the next level. I think we are all formed in the image of God who spoke and made the world and everything in it. I think sometimes he waits for us to find the courage to speak what we believe. Sometimes he waits for us to stop speaking that which is undermining our progress forward. There is power of life and death in the tongue. Watch your words.

Faith, I have found requires action. One must find the courage to take the next step, and the next to get to the thing that one can see in the distance. Sometimes I am un clear what the next step is or I await the inspiration and in it all, in both my life and my art I have learned to trust that when the time is right, the things that I need to proceed will be there. It is a confidence that I walk in and rest in. There are steps of faith that I must stretch out my faith to accept. God will not push you to go one way or the other. He will not make you turn off the tv or walk away from that mind numbing game or activity. At some point I must - choose to be available and to be open for Him to take my willing hand and to hear Him say... Here is the way ...walk in it.  Can you hear him saying to you "are you ready - its time we move on from this dead thing - I have more - will you go with me into the unknown - will you trust me and will you go with me? Don't be afraid I am with you and I will never leave or forsake you."

Sometime I must first work through beliefs that are not quite right or wounds that must first be healed. Sometimes sometimes God must help me to find the courage and confidence to step from where I am at present into the next phase of his plans and purposes. Sometimes moving forward means letting go of good things to reach for God's best. Those are often hard choices to make and hard things to let go of. While sometimes I think we can stall things through disobedience, and we can miss opportunities, in the end Gods plans and purposes are accomplished, he may however pass us over and give the blessing of that thing to another who is ready and who responds to His calling.  Some things wait for God to move and arrange and bring people who are needed together. There is a synergy that happens when people of faith come together to do the will of God. It is a beautiful and a powerful thing. In such things the wills of people play into the equation. I have seen God move and shift circumstances and people at times suddenly and other times it seems we can wait a very long time for God to move. I am reminded of a suddenly verse in Malachi 3.

“Behold, I send My messenger,

And he will prepare the way before Me.

And the Lord, whom you seek,

Will suddenly come to His temple,

Even the Messenger of the covenant,

In whom you delight.

Behold, He is coming,”

Says the Lord of hosts.

I guess I have come to trust and accept Gods greater sovereignty. I am coming to accept that He accepts me where I am today but He calls me to come higher up and higher in as CS Lewis writes in the final chapter of the Chronicles of Narnia. When we come to the end of one adventure there is yet another that awaits us. In 30 some years of walking with the Lord, I have seen this to be true. There is always more of Him to discover. 


Prayer:
Dear Lord, 
Your timing and plans are wonderful and perfect and often far beyond our ability to fully comprehend. I am thankful that you generally show us things a little at a time so as to not overwhelm us. Lord today help us to see the next steps, help us to be available and open. Help us to be found in your presence so that when you speak a thing that we will be there to hear and respond. Thank you for the amazing journey called life.  Be with us in this day and reveal your glory in and through lives that are submitted to your will and your way. 

The Anchor of My Soul

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

Hebrews 6:19 -20  

^"This hope we have 

as an anchor of the soul, 

both sure and steadfast, 

and which enters 

the Presence behind the veil,

²⁰ where the forerunner 

has entered for us,  

even Jesus, having become 

High Priest forever 

according to the order 

of Melchizedek."

There are mornings when I struggle to find my voice. I feel like a boat a drift and and my mind wanders trying to find the rope that is attached to the anchor of my soul. This morning I was reading from Galatians the Lord seems to lead me there often to remind me that the focus of my life is not based upon doing good things or bad things but simply in believing in Jesus. It is His righteousness not my own that allows me to enter the presence of the Father.  Then I spent some time reading a chapter from The Sacred Romance by John Eldredge. I am reminded by him how lesser stories and lesser lovers all vie for my time and attention. He talks of how when we are not busy doing that we struggle to rest. " I have made my home in you, ____. But you still have other comforters you go to. You must learn to make your home in me."   He goes on to write " It also dawned on me that holiness, surprisingly, also comes not out of doing but out of staying at home, with who and where we are and with who and where God is in us. Indeed, we will only have the courage to leave home and continue to live as pilgrims out on the road if we have some sense that our true home abides within us in the Spirit of Christ and that we can do the same with him. And in the meantime, out of this abiding, Jesus transforms us. Our identity begins to coalesce, not out of doing, but out of living with a good friend for a number of years and simply finding we have become more like him. " (page 166-7)

I am glad God gives me these things to remind me that while I may feel like I am drifting, there is an anchor tied to Him. So in the midst of my morning I have found my voice. The enemy of my soul would like to tell me I have nothing of value to write or say and perhaps he says similar things to you. I suppose on one level it is true because apart from Jesus there is really not much to tell.  Yet of Jesus, I will not be silent. His relationship with me and with you is one of epoch proportions. It is a grand story of a King who would leave his home and journey to find those who had lost their way and were trapped, and chained and tortured by evil masters. Yet He comes and He reaches out to us and says "will you believe, will you take my hand and walk with me. Will you let me transform you, and give your life purpose and meaning and be defined by who you are in me?"  That is a story that I love to tell.  

So I have grouped around in the early morning darkness and found the rope or the chain that is attached to the anchor that reaches beyond this earth to my home in Jesus. It is there that I find rest, it is there that doing stops and simply being and abiding begins.  

Prayer:
Dear Lord, 
Help us to know that the anchor of our soul is secure in you. That when the voices and the clamor of this life try to tell us that we are lost, out of control, drifting or valueless. That we will know that even when you were asleep in the boat with the disciples and the wind and the waves threatened and caused them to become fearful. You were in the boat and you spoke and calmed the storm.  So Lord in your name, and by your authority I speak to those storms and tell them to be still. I speak to myself and I say Be still, know that God is with you, that he is for you, that he will not abandon you. That he loves you and delights to be with you. I pray that His epoch story of love would rise up in you and that the mental and emotional fog would lift and you would be able to feel the sunshine of His love and presence as you walk through this day.   

Hezekiah’s Prayer

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

2 Kings 19

 ¹⁴ Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD. ¹⁵ And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD: “O LORD, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. ¹⁶ Give ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God.

 ¹⁷ “It is true, O LORD, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. ¹⁸ They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by men’s hands. ¹⁹ Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God.” 

There are so many great stories in the Bibles. I'm sure you know the big ones like Adam and Eve, Abraham, Joshua and Noah but there are so many others and perhaps you've heard it but maybe were not able to connect the dots to how it might be relevant and how to apply the truths found in it to your life. So todays post is that - one of those lesser known stories from the bible but full of treasures to inspire us to a closer walk with the Lord.

This is a great story of trust. You need to go back a chapter to read this story but I will tell you the Margot version. So Hezekiah is in his 14th year as king of Judah. Keep in mind that the kingdom of Israel shortly after David split. The majority left and were called Israel and were pretty much led by one wicked king after another till finally God allows them to be scattered to the winds. Heziekiah is the 13th king since the kigdoms have split. He is part of the side that remains loyal to David lineage of kings. He is one of the good kings and is credited with restoring the temple and he puts a stop to a lot of the idol worship that was happening in the land. He is quite a man of faith and trust in God.
So in this story Hezekiah is having to deal with Assyria who has pretty much swept thorough the surrounding area and taken over.  They have already demanded tribute from Hezekiah which he does pay at one point having to take and strip the gold off the doors of the temple to pay. So at this point there I'm not sure if Judah has just run out of funds to pay or if Hezekiah has simply had enough.  
So the king of Assyria has captured all of Judah's fortified cities and now stands out side of the walls of Jerusalem yelling in effect. "Dude you are next. Who are you trusting to save you. Certainly not in Egypt or in your God - look at all the other gods the surrounding kingdoms have trusted - we've piled them in a heap and burned them. Here are his exact words which he speaks in the language of the people so that everyone hears his threats.

 ¹⁹ The field commander said to them, “Tell Hezekiah:
   “‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: On what are you basing this confidence of yours? ²⁰ You say you have strategy and military strength—but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel against me? ²¹ Look now, you are depending on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff, which pierces a man’s hand and wounds him if he leans on it! Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who depend on him. ²² And if you say to me, “We are depending on the LORD our God”—isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before this altar in Jerusalem”?

There is another story of a Giant who yells insults and taunts the people of God. In that story a shepherd boy takes him down with a river rock and a sling.  I have to wonder if Hezekiah might have remembered that story.  He hears these taunts and the way that Assyria is blaspheming God. I love the part of our verse today where he is praying and he say it is true what they are saying. "It is true, O LORD, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. ¹⁸ They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by men’s hands." But I love it that he does not stop there. You know we have circumstances around us and the facts may clearly point to death or defeat. The kid from "The Boy who went to Heaven" he should have died. When his mom walked into that trauma center - everything the doctors were saying was true. Like her and Hezikiah and David the shepherd boy we can look at those things and we don't have to go in and pretend that the circumstances are not what they are. The question is what will we do. What will we speak who will we align our selves with. In the case of the three stories I just mentioned they chose to look beyond the facts to the Lord and to believe in spite of the facts that God is able to save, heal, and deliver.  So Hezikiah continues his prayer. ¹⁹ "Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God

Sennecherib shouts to the people standing on the walls - Don't listen to Hezikiah and his stories that the Lord is going to deliver you. Make a deal with me now and I will be nice and deport you to a land like your own.   Who in all the land has been able to stand against Assyria. Who the heck do you people think you are to trust your God to save you. This is of course my version of the story and I would encourage you to read it for your self in 2 Kings 18 and 19.   I love it that the people were silent and obeyed their king who told them don't answer him.

So when Hezikiah first hears of the threat he tears his clothes and goes to the temple to seek the Lord.
Good response to trouble. We should also be quick to turn to the Lord.  So from that place he sends a delegation of priests to the Prophet Isaiah with the following message.

“This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the point of birth and there is no strength to deliver them. ⁴ It may be that the LORD your God will hear all the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule the living God, and that he will rebuke him for the words the LORD your God has heard. Therefore pray for the remnant that still survives.

Hezekiah realizes that they are pretty much goners unless the Lord delivers them. He does not just give up and walk out with the white flag of surrender. Nor does he mount up his little army. He goes to God and he sends out word to the leading prophet of the day, Isaish to pray and get direction from the Lord.

So the message he gets back from Isaiah. Pretty much God says don't worry - I've got you covered some of it is kind of humorous. Its a great response and too long to put in this post - I hope you will go in your quiet time and read the story and enjoy some of the richness of it. He says things like....
"The Daughter of Jerusalem
   tosses her head as you flee.
²² Who is it you have insulted and blasphemed?
   Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes in pride?
   Against the Holy One of Israel!

If God is for us... who can stand against us.
The end to this story is that in the night God sends an angel who puts to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. No fighting, no arrows, no siege ramps... just a lot of dead bodies. Just for a point of reference Yankee Stadium holds 52,325 people. A bit more than 3 stadiums full of dead soldiers. Thats a lot of dead guys.  So Sennacherib gets up that morning to find his army dead so he leaves and goes to Nineveh. Before you think that he does not get his just desserts here is what happens to him.
 ³⁷ One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer cut him down with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son succeeded him as king.

So today no matter what you are facing, rather than taking things into your own hands to solve, or sinking down in to depression and fear - turn instead to God. Yes the circumstances are what they are but God is bigger than those things. You have to make a choice - who's report are you going to believe? Who are you going to align yourself with? I hope you will turn to God and draw near to Him to hear his wisdom and council to you. That you would have courage to stand your ground and to obey him. That you would not give up but would trust Him when every thing points to doom and failure that you will turn your eyes and ears and heart to heaven.

Prayer:
Dear Lord,
You know the taunts of the enemy in each of our lives. No matter if it coming from the voice of loved ones, or just the battle ground of the mind. Help us to look to you. Help us to be quick to acknowledge or helplessness and our great need for you. We are so arrogant to think we can find a solution to deliver our selves. I echo this prayer from the Covenant Hymnal "Gracious God, Our sins are to heavy to carry, too real to hide, and too deep to undo. Forgive what our lips tremble to name, and what our hearts can no longer bear, and what has become for us a consuming fire of judgment. Set is free from a past that we cannot change; open to us a future in which we can be changed; and grant us grace to grow more and more in your likeness and image; through Jesus Christ, the light of the world. Amen"

The Gift Makes A Way...

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

Portrait of Christina Rossetti, by her brother Dante Rossetti

 Proverbs 18:16 

A gift opens the way 
for the giver
and ushers him 
into the presence 
of the great.








At Christmas time we think of giving and receiving gifts.  I find myself asking what can I do that would bless the sock off of Jesus this Christmas. I also think, I wonder what spiritual gifts Jesus might want to give me. I think of the words to a poem by Christina Rossetti (1830 -1894)   

What can I give Him, Poor as I am? 

If I were a shepherd I would bring a lamb,
If I were a wise man I would do my part,
Yet what I can I give Him, Give my heart. 

I have pulled some of her beautiful Christmas poems to add to this post.

I guess as I think about what gift I can give, I think of those things that I do for the least of these - are things that I do for Jesus. So I give Him my heart and my life and my songs and my thoughts and my words.  I pray He will be blessed by my faith and obedience to write these devotional posts. I am thankful that He is using my words to encourage people all over the world. While I have conquered the "I am not _____ enough" thing that as hounded me most of my life I still find myself often thinking but who am I, what do I have of any great value to give. I suppose I still struggle with the insecurity of seeing myself as very ordinary and very broken and I am truly humbled that the Lord would use me to touch others with His love. I was told by my pastor and his wife that I needed to sit with the realization that my prayers were profoundly impacting the lives of people. So I am sitting with that this morning and my tendency is to say but thats not me thats the Lord working. I just pray as the Holy Spirit leads me and pray what He puts on my heart in that moment. Truly it is his work ...but I see, that as I sit with the realization that my prayers are making enough of a difference that it is getting back to my pastor, while all the glory goes to God.... that I have become useful because I have spent the time to know the Lord and to be found at His feet. So I am blessed to hear that my prayers and writing are making a difference in the lives of the people. I like to think of myself as a carrier of God's presence. I resist the notion that I am special - we are all special and I tend toward I am available Lord for your plans and purposes. You, who at one point used a donkey to speak to a prophet - now that was a "special talking donkey." But I have been instructed to sit with this knowledge by two people that I trust and respect deeply. So I find myself wondering what is it that you want me to see. Its not that I have a lack of confidence that you would use or speak through me, I see that, and I know that. I think perhaps is has to do with realizing the Lord's value of me. Clearly there is a deeper revelation of God's love for me that I need to somehow grasp.

When I pray for people. I lay hands on them and the Lord puts in my heart what to say. I rarely have any idea what they are going through or why they are wanting prayer, the Holy Spirit leads me as I pray. I am blessed that God would use something as simple as a prayer to make a difference in the life of another. I am humbled and in awe of Jesus who can take brokenness and make beauty from it. That he can take us, simple creatures that He formed from dust and fill us with His Spirit and reveal his glory in earthen vessels. I realize that if all I am is His, then it is more than enough. God who would come as a baby and fill a lowly stable with His glory is also willing to draw near and fill the likes of you and I.

In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
Long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him
Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When He comes to reign:
 

In the bleak mid-winter
A stable-place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty,
Jesus Christ.

What can I give Him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would bring a lamb,
If I were a wise man
I would do my part,
Yet what I can I give Him,
Give my heart. by Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)

Christina Rossetti was an interesting woman who turned down several proposals of marriage because her suitors did not share her faith in Christ. Back then being an un married woman was not so cool or accepted as it is today. She was one of the formost women poets of her time. She was the youngest of four children and was educated at home by her mother.  She started writing as a young child and continued to write though out her life. She suffered from depression and a thyroid disorder called Graves disease and lived much of her life in seclusion. She died of cancer in 1894. 

I found another of her Christmas poems to share with you.

The Shepherds Had An Angel

The shepherds had an angel,
The wise men had a star;
But what have I, a little child,
To guide me home from far,
Where glad stars sing together,
And singing angels are?

Lord Jesus is my Guardian
so I can nothing lack;
The lambs lie in His bosom
Along life's dangerous track:
The wilful lambs that go astray
He, bleeding, brings them back.

Those shepherds thro' the lonely night
Sat watching by their sheep,
Until they saw the heav'nly host
Who neither tire nor sleep,
All singing glory, glory,
In festival they keep.

Christ watches me, His little lamb,
Cares for me day and night,
That I may be His own in heav'n,
So angels clad in white
Shall sing their Glory, glory,
For my sake in the height.

Lord, bring me nearer day by day,
Till I my voice unite,
And sing my Glory, glory,
With angels clad in white,
All Glory, glory, giv'n to Thee,
Thro' all the heav'nly height.

So to tie this post together. I think that as we give the Lord our hearts, our lives, our words... that he takes even the simplest things and begins to use them. Christina used her words and they have lived on long beyond her and still to this day inspire me and others who read them. So today as I sit with the knowledge that my prayers are making a difference,  I guess I am hopeful that my words will as well. There is a passage that says of Samuel the prophet in 1 Samuel 3:19 The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground."  I hope that God would say that of me, that my words in the things I write and in the things I say or pray would not fall to the ground but that they would encourage and inspire and bring hope to people and draw them closer to Jesus. I will end with this verse from Isaiah because it speaks to me of how God desires to establish us and move us from being afflicted and storm-tossed to becoming something of great beauty. To become his treasure and a gift to His kingdom.

Isaiah 54:11-14

“O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in antimony, and lay your foundations with sapphires. I will make your pinnacles of agate, your gates of carbuncles, and all your wall of precious stones. All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children. In righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you.”

  

Prayer:

Beloved, hear the word of the Lord to you. Rise up, take off the heavy cloak of sorrow and shame. Know that he is healing you and wants to set you free from the chains that have held you back from being all He has called you to be. He wants to replace that old raggedy cloak with a new one called hope.  He wants to pour over you the oil of gladness, that His joy might be your strength. He would give you temperance that you would no longer turn to old addictions and behaviors as a bandaid in a vain attempt to numb your pain. I pray you would receive the gift of His forgiveness and the have a deep and growing revelation of His love for you. I pray you would truly receive His acceptance and would begin to walk in the freedom of His grace and mercy and to once and for all finally cease from trying to atone for your past indiscretions. Jesus paid it all! May you have the faith to receive His Gifts to you this Christmas and the courage to leave the old behind and follow Him into the new things He has prepared for you. May you, yourself, become His gift to the many lives around you.

The Up Side of Suffering

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

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Romans 5:5 NIV 1984
And hope does not disappoint us, 
because God has poured out his love 
into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, 
whom he has given us.

I love this verse, God has given us His Holy Spirit and poured out His love to us by the Holy Spirit. Hope does into disappoint us.

I know some of you who are reading this are struggling. Your life is hard and some to the things you are facing seem unfair and impossible. I want to share the rest of this passage with you today.

 ¹ Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope.

I suppose you probably don't want to read about the up side of suffering. Most folks would just assume avoid suffering.  While I don't suggest that anyone go looking for suffering, because we all do suffer at various times throughout our life. While its no picnic it does produce perseverance as we do our best to walk through those difficult times and season. That perseverance produces character.
How exactly does hope fit in. Is it simply a hope for things to get better. Or is it that those things remind us that this world is not our home. We are on a journey and we have not arrived at our final destination. 

I am reminded of how pearls are formed. A bit of sand gets into the oyster shell. That sand produces suffering for the oyster. What does the oyster do? It coats the sand or other irritating foreign substance with the same substance that coats its shell. Over time it forms a pearl. 
I think like the oyster we were designed to be able to deal with the sand like troubles that come into our life.  Why not just take us home as soon as we accept Jesus. Why does God leave us here to wade through the trials and troubles of life.

Trials and trouble help us see what we are made of. I think we often find we are stronger than we think. Even when we fail, hopefully we are learning and adjusting and have given ourselves permission to experiment until we figure out what works for us. Trials either turn us from God or turn us to God. I think God allows them to help us discover where our hope lies. Does it lie in our own strength and ability or does it rest in God? 

Everyday we have opportunities to discover if our foundations are built on shifting sand or if they lie securely on the rock of trust in Jesus.

I like the old hymn that says

My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.

Refrain: On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

Refrain

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.

Refrain

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

If my hope is in anything but Jesus it will be shaken. That hope will likely fail us. Hope in Jesus and resting in the provision of His grace, helps us to view the trials of this life with different eyes. 

Every difficulty we face is an opportunity to not only turn to God but to create a pearl.  

God knew the oyster would encounter sand and foreign substances and He created the oyster to have a way to deal with it in a positive way.  He also created you knowing you would go through hardships and trials and He has equipped you just like the oyster, to turn them in to something of beauty and value. 

Prayer:

Dear Lord, 

You see the things that each of us face. You know how those things are working your perseverance and character into our lives. Help us to turn those things over to you and to trust you in them. Help us each to place our hope in you. Cause that hope to grow and become a testimony of your love and grace working in our lives.   When we put our hope in you, we will not be disappointed.

Keep Hope Alive

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Keep Hope Alive
A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

Isaiah 40:31
But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; 
they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Ok this one is from the refrigerator verse collection – here is one we all know and love.
Hope in the LORD renews strength. We can soar and run and walk on the strength that comes from hope. Hope is choosing to believe the impossible is possible. Hope delayed will arrive any time now. Hope gives us something to look forward to. Hope gives us a reason to get out of bed in the morning. I always love the part in the JR Tolkien stories where Frodo and Sam have gotten rid of the ring. There they sit on a lava flow and they know there is no rescue possible. They have accepted that the job is costing them their lives. Yet they talk about the Shire and they keep the hope of home alive.  The eagles come and swoop down and grab them in their mighty talons and carry them to safety.
This verse comes to mind when I see that part of the movie. Oh for friends like Sam who will sticks by you to the end. Friends who will recount the good, remember the noble cause. It is in those moments of faith in the face of the impossible, that God is blessed by our hope in Him.   In that moment where we are at the end of our endurance and we can bear no more - He swoops in on wings like eagles.

Who are the people who inspire hope in your life. Keep those folks near but better yet let us each endeavor to be the people who keep hope alive. Can we stir those around us to hope and belief?
I may not know how God will deliver me but I know my situation has not caught him by surprise. I must be one who keeps hope alive even when others around me can see nothing but the dark reality of the here and now. I want to see with eyes of hope and faith.


Things to Ponder:
Think of times where God has come though in the past - remembering helps us to hope in him now.

Are there areas where you feel weak and run down? Check those areas to see if you have lost hope.

Think of five people in your life that help keep hope alive - spend more time with them.

Prayer:
Dear Lord,
Help me as I put my hope in you to find renewed strength. Help me to soar on the winds of your mercy and love. Help me run and not grow weary, help me walk and not faint. Cause me to grow in hope and to inspire hope in others around me. Let me soar and run and walk in you today.